It has become commonplace to access a wide variety of information and services with computer networks, some of which span the globe. Over time, the ways in which people interact with such computer networks have changed. In particular, network sites emphasizing social interaction (“social network sites”) such as Facebook® and Twitter® have become popular. Although there are many different kinds of network sites offering many different kinds of media and services, a significant portion of computer network users primarily interact with a relatively small subset of network sites. The popularity of social network sites (e.g., as expressed in volume of network traffic to the site and user time spent at the site) has led to a widespread familiarity with the user interfaces and user experiences (collectively, “user environments”) of the social network sites. Ease and familiarity with a particular user interface can be a significant factor in a person's willingness to interact with a given network site. For example, an unfamiliar user interface can be perceived as strange, confusing, or cumbersome. This perception can be a barrier for users, even when the offerings of the associated network site are otherwise attractive.
In particular, the reluctance of some users to engage with unfamiliar user environments can be problematic for providers of goods and services (“merchants”). Many social network sites display merchant advertisements, but clicking on an advertisement can cause the user to leave the familiar user environment of the social network site and transition to the unfamiliar user environment of the merchant's network site. The transition can be perceived as undesirable by the user, potentially negating interest generated by the advertisement.
Popular multi-merchant network sites exist, and such sites can ease the problem of unfamiliar user environments, however incorporation into such sites can be problematic for some merchants. For example, such incorporation may damage the image of an exclusive merchant brand. On the other hand, popular multi-merchant network sites have access to user transaction data with respect to a wide variety of goods and services. Access to such data can be desirable to more accurately identify users that are likely to be interested in the particular goods and services of a merchant. Advertising to uninterested users can be problematic for both user and merchant.
Note that the same numbers are used throughout the disclosure and figures to reference like components and features.